Pilgrims from Brunei Darussalam and pilgrims from other parts of
the world converged on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia yesterday
for a solemn ritual prayer that is the highlight of the haj
pilgrimage, RTB reported.
About two million pilgrims,
including about half a million from inside Saudi Arabia, are
performing this year's haj.
Arafat is a small plain, 250
metres above sea level, surrounded by high mountains. It is 20
kilometres southwest of Mecca.
Pilgrims stay in the day in the
open under thousands of tents. The time they spend praying at
Mount Arafat is believed to symbolise the day of judgment, when
Islam says every person will stand before god and answer for his
deeds.
Pilgrims spend the day praying
for forgiveness and beseeching god for success.
The annual ritual, which begins
in the nearby holy city of Mecca, birthplace of Islam and
Prophet Muhammad S.A.W., is a spiritual journey that, according
to Islamic teachings, cleanses the soul and wipes away sins.
From Arafat, the pilgrims will
move to nearby Muzdalifah, where they collect pebbles to throw
at three pillars in Mena, symbolically stoning the temptations
of the devil.
Then, pilgrims and Muslims
around the world celebrate the start of the Aidil Adha, or the
Feast of Sacrifice, by slaughtering an animal and sharing the
meat with the poor.
Muslims must perform the haj at
least once in their lifetime, if they have the physical and
financial means.
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